Loss
by Kita Kitsune
Summary: A lot can happen in thirty years. Time passes irrevocably, people come and go, but love never really fades... HieixKurama, KuramaxHiei, KuramaxYuusuke. Mild shounen ai, tiny citrus like an orangekwat at the end.
1. Present

Disclaimer: I don't own Yuu Yuu Hakusho, or any of its characters. Those belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama, who made a lot more out of them than I ever could have. ^^;; I just do fanfiction for fun, and earn no monetary rewards for writing it. Reviews are, of course, worth as much as silver.

Title: Loss  
Anime: Yuu Yuu Hakusho  
Pairing: YuusukexKurama, HieixKurama, KuramaxYuusuke, KuramaxHiei, KuwabaraxYukina, YukinaxKuwabara  
Warning: Shounen ai  
Author: Kita Kitsune  
Date: Monday(moon-day!) June 16, 2008  
Miscellaneous Notes: …err, yeah, I don't know where this came from. xD I guess it's a mix of the first part of BlueUtopiah-sama's recent LJ post with the random memes (the one that goes to 'Chizuru', by The Gazette)… and the result reading a lot of YuusukexKuramaxHiei, YuusukexHieixKurama fanfics, recently. oO;; ….eh. Hope no one's too confused, by the end. ;.; .;;;

Misc. Notes (Saturday, April 18, 2009): Hurrah! The first somewhat-recent fanfic I've posted up that I actually still like. :3 Actually, there's already a chapter two up on my AFF page. Go read it, if you want~! But be warned. o_o;; ...Ehe.

Death steals all forms.

It robs from us time, presence, memory and love.

How long can one last without it?

A lifetime is an eternity…

: : :

He woke, as though from a dream.

It was hesitant, cautious, that he came to awareness—optics slivering open quietly as a tail or two shifted in their newly-found freedom.

Hm.

Had he been napping… ?

A wide yawn revealed tiny pinpricks of fangs—and with a light twitch of ears he heard the sound of wailing. Curious, the fox tipped its head towards the sound… and blinked, at what he saw. He was reclined on what seemed to be nothingness, curled easily in the air beside an open window. What was more astonishing was that none of the creatures past the glass had noticed him—a white fox of six or so tails… wait, six? A careful flutter of said appendages, as he counted them off… indeed, there were six. That was perplexing. Last he'd known, he'd had only four… not that he would complain about said added tails, mind you.

At any rate… the scene of the room past the window was quite odd. Slanted golden depths examined the creatures, his own form quite at ease—they hadn't noticed him yet, after all, and seemed to be too distracted to garner the fact that they would, any time soon.

There seemed to be a bed—he couldn't see who occupied it, due to a fretting dark-haired woman whose thin strands were streaked with grey clasping something in her hands. She was faced away from him, but his sensitive ears gave another slightly irritated twitch as the wailing was revealed to be from her. Eyes traveling away from the noisy human, a stoic, plain-looking man stood beside the door… seemingly unsure of what to do. His eyes were upon the crying woman, even as she reached out and touched whoever was on the bed, her body blocking any view of the face, although now the fox could see (now that she'd shifted closer to the prone form) that she clasped one of the limp hands in both of hers… hm. Must be a relative, then. Humans tended to be so attached to their blood-kin, after all… he nearly snorted, but brushed away the impulse in case it would be heard.

He watched these two, for a moment…idly noticing that he felt a bit better, vision and senses growing clearer as the time passed. Feeling the energy needed for movement, the kitsune stretched easily, padding over on the air to the other side of the window, curious to get a glimpse of the face of the one that mattered so much, to this grieving, insignificant woman.

However, the entrance of another human woman—this one clad all in white—seemed to break the scene into pieces, and the dark-haired lady nodded, leaning to kiss the brow of whoever laid upon that bed, the curious fox's eyes trailing over to… to his annoyance, the woman in white moved to the side of the bed where the other lady had previously been, blocking that form's countenance from view. She retreated soon enough, seeming to have completed whatever task it was that had kept her at the unknown human's bedside—and the kitsune lightly canted his head to the side. The face the fox took in was not unpleasant to gaze upon… for a human, at any rate.

Cheeks, paled with sickness or whatever malady he was assaulted with—still held a faint rosy tint to them, features soft in unconsciousness, unaware. The face was lined with a few wrinkles, here and there—crow's feet around the eyes, lines in the forehead, a slight sag around the chin that told of age. Perhaps this human was… ah, he was never good at ningen reckoning, but—he at least seemed to be a moderately-aged adult. Possibly close to fifty or so.

Senses not quite appeased by this information, the spirit fox easily slipped in through a crack in the window, padding over the air to sit on nothing—hovering a good few feet above the bar—at the end of the human's bed. Slanted eyes narrowed as they bore down upon the being beneath him… but his thoughts were disturbed as the door behind him opened, once more, and he tipped his head to face the intruders calmly—quite aware that they wouldn't be able to see him.

The first to enter was a tall man—once-chiseled features carrying the weight of years with them, as well. Small black eyes were set into his face, and the quite-at-ease kitsune watched as he walked over to the bedside, one large hand reaching out to rest on the (apparently) sleeping human's shoulder. His hair was in a crew-cut, murky orange in hue. A light ear twitch, and the fox at last recognized the faint 'beep, beep' sound going off in the corner. He hadn't noticed it at first—it was so monotonous, like the steady beat of a drum.

Following the man was a petite girl—no, woman, the fox corrected himself. Her features were delicate but beautiful, face still holding the glow of youth while a gently curved chin was more refined than a mere child's could have ever been. She was clad in a light turquoise dress or skirt that fell just past her knees, a long-sleeved brown jacket buttoned over her front right up to her neck, covering her modestly. Despite this rather plain look, the woman's hair was a stark sea-green color, held back in a low braid that was tied off at the end by a curious red clasp, of sorts. There was no doubt she was a demon. Her ki signature gave it away all too easily—as did her eyes, when they caught the light… red, and they could be nothing else. Forelocks of the same hue hid her face, but a gentle hand moved to find one of the larger man's and take hold of it, tenderly—

"Kazuma…" Those big fingers curled around the girl's delicate ones and he turned to her, the corners of his eyes welling over with tears. One escaped, rolling over his cheek and the woman reached her free hand to brush it away, one hand cupping his cheek and smiling in an attempt to comfort him—

Only now was the kitsune aware that two others had entered the room besides them—they were quick enough that he hadn't noticed, but his senses perked when they stepped out of the shadows behind him, slanted eyes narrowing as one walked to the side of the bed opposite the tall man and his female companion.

This figure was tall—not as tall as the man across from him, but certainly at a higher height than the demonic female. He was clad in tight blue jeans, an oversized green-and-orange jacket pulled over what appeared to be a white tank top, and a baseball cap covering his head. Lengthy dark brown bangs framed his face, falling to the chin and heavier strands cascaded down his back, pulled back into a low ponytail that seemed roughly-hewn at the ends—as though any further length had been carelessly hacked off by claws to avoid them growing any longer. As a result, said ponytail only fell to about the middle of his back. However, speaking of claws… the fox's sight traveled down to notice the hand that was clenched by the demon's side.

Why a demon? Well, it would be hard to imagine that some fledging tattoo artist in the Ningenkai had both come upon and mastered how to perfectly replicate the blue tribal markings of Raizen's clan.

At this, the fox did snort.

Ruby depths blinked curiously at the sound, the lady's head seeming to cant towards him… but she appeared to brush it off, softly moving to guide her male companion to a chair by the bed, and leaning to kiss his brow… taking his eyes from the sight, a slight prickling came upon the kitsune's neck—that other figure was yet behind him, but before he had time to turn he heard a soft gasp come from the lady before him. One of her hands was resting on the unconscious human's forehead, scarlet bangs brushed out of the way so the skin of her palm could meet his—and the other had lifted to her lips in an unconsciously refined gesture of surprise, those crimson eyes widened… and it was picked up on, immediately. The demon at the fox's right (the one with his back facing the window, and the baseball cap) spoke first—

"Yukina? What's wrong?" At this, the lady's head shook, her eyes shimmering as she leaned forward, a soft blue glow emanating from her hand—it gave the fox a headache, really—

"His… Kurama-san's…"

"Itoushi?" The carrot-top seated behind her stood, taking a few steps over to the trembling woman, a hand moving to rest on her shoulder in reassurance… and a few clatters fell to the tiled floor as she looked behind her, locking tearful eyes with him before settling her strangely crimson eyes on the demon across from her, voice falling to only a whisper…

"Kurama-san… his kitsune spirit is—it's nearly disappeared…"

"What!" The word was exclaimed in unison with the two men on either side of the bed, all eyes snapping immediately to the prone form of the redhead, that lay there like an angel… this was all very interesting, indeed.

Granted, the fox was a bit confused as to how a human could house a kitsune spirit long enough for it to be considered unusual for him to be without it… but entertainment was entertainment.

A few tails twitched lightly as the girl began weeping, the taller man leading her out of the room, brushing away her tears—most likely so they wouldn't become hiruiseki, as well, as had the uncaught few that yet dotted the tiles beside the human's—'Kurama', apparently—bed.

He took note, however, as the clawed fingers of the descendent of Raizen clenched, the brunet punching his own fist into his hand with a muttered curse, head bowing down in repressed sorrow.

"Dammit…" What happened next was curious, as those long-nailed fingers then shifted to brush a few of the red strands from the other's face, markings lightly showing on his skin as the jacket was pulled up his arm with the movement—the toushin's words were barely audible, too soft to really mean anything… "—dammit, Kurama… you can't leave us like this…"

Faintly, the kitsune was aware of the dark presence at his back moving—but ears twitched and he caught the rest of the mutterings of the demon before him…

"—you can't just have them find a brain tumor and let it eat away at you for a few months and… give up, Kurama!" The last word was an anguished sort of urgent whisper, hands moving to grasp onto the redhead's shoulders as the toushin's shoulders quivered with restrained emotion—the kitsune supposed that the unconscious face was being intently surveyed by a broken, emotional gaze, at the moment—claws lightly sinking into the light garment the human in the bed wore, his head flopping back and forth a bit, as the brunet shook him, slightly—just careful enough to avoid snapping the other's neck, but forceful enough to try to 'wake' him.

"—dammit, Kurama—" That same voice was choked, now, heavy and leaden with all-encompassing sorrow—"You're not supposed to die… not now, not here… later, after we've had centuries in Makai together—you, and me, and Hiei… dammit…!" During the tirade the toushin had drawn the redhead close to his chest, the yet-baseball-capped head bowing down over the scarlet locks—presumably to take in the scent there."…dammit, you're not supposed to die before we even get a chance to be together!" At this, the kitsune's nose picked up the fresh, salty scent of tears, one ear lightly twitching in curiosity. How often did demons allow themselves to become so attached? And to a human, no less…

The brunet cried silently for a time, arms still holding the limp form to his chest, firmly—but it was after a few long minutes that the youkai across from him spoke, and the fox found his gaze drawn to the small demon.

"Yuusuke." That tone was quiet, firm—and in a baritone that surprised the fox, given the youkai's diminutive stature. Black, blue-tinted fur rose high on his head, a white starburst standing out boldly, just above his forehead. Narrowed crimson eyes conveyed no expression, but the face beyond them was surprisingly smooth and pale—as though the youkai had just entered into adulthood… features curiously similar, and yet completely opposite to the koorime that had been in the room, earlier. That yet-baseball-capped head rose, and a glance passed between the two of them. The kitsune tipped his head to the side, in silent observation.

Finally, gently… the toushin laid the human back down into the covers, pulling the sheets back up, and glancing once more to his face—the brunet gasped.

"Hiei, look—!" Curious as to what had happened to evoke this response, the fox padded up over the air atop the bed, gazing down at the human's countenance… and had to blink. The face there was impossibly young—the lines and wrinkles, crow's feet and slightly sagging chin gone in a seeming instant. The redhead looked not a day out of his teenage years, and he could have sworn he heard the sharp intake of a hopeful breath, the toushin preparing the instant to speak—

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Like the air had suddenly been sucked out of their respective lungs, crimson and roan (now that the kitsune was close enough to peer under the baseball cap's visor) depths shot to the machine that had been quietly, steadily beeping in the corner, all this time.

The brunet's voice was regained, first.

"NO!" Those clawed hands grasped the human's shoulders, again, shaking him with renewed force as the stoic little youkai watched on, appearing unaffected by all this—and then there was the sudden sound of rushing footsteps down the hall and that demon barked an order, voice sharp.

"Window! Now!" Not wasting time for the toushin to gather his senses, the shorter of the two grabbed him by the neck and slid the window fully open, jumping out into the night and landing on the branch of the tree outside, out of sight and practically invisible in the darkness… hell, the kitsune only knew they were there because of their lingering youki signatures.

The escape was none too soon, as in the next instant a number of humans in white coats burst into the room, wheeling some device or another and shouting things to one another, the redhead's shirt ripped open by one as another rubbed what looked like two plastic cups with a cord leading from each of them to one of the machines together, a slight tinge of electricity in the air as the dark-haired woman with streaks of grey in her hair—as well as the koorime and her tall human mate—stood still at the door, the elder lady's hands flying to her mouth in horror as the demonic female's shoulders shook, her carrot-topped lover standing with a hand on her shoulder, eyes silently pained but still at the ready to sweep away any tears before they should fall and draw suspicion to the turquoise-haired woman.

"Clear!" That body on the bed jumped with the electric shock, and the doctor cast a glance to the machine in the corner—nothing. He tried again, rubbing the two cups together. "Clear!" It took a few more tries for the man to realize that it was useless… and he set the cups back into the tray they had come from, shaking his head as he took off his mask and checked his watch, reading out—"Time of death: 9:04 PM." The elderly woman broke into sobs, at this, running through the mob of nurses and various health professionals to hug the limp form, crying into the redhead's chest.

"Suuichi! No, Suuichi! My boy! Suuichi…" The last of the doctors cleared out, quietly—leaving the woman to her mourning, leaving her to clutch at the child of her own womb even as the body no longer lived.

The kitsune canted his head to the side, again, as the koorime and the tall human walked around to the other side of the bed, the petite demon wound up in her lover's embrace as she cried softly into his chest—the position allowed her to weep without drawing suspicion, well enough.

Through the course of the frenzy of doctors, the elderly woman's companion had also reached the room—but stayed back, letting the lady focus completely on her son. After a few minutes of her crying, however… he stepped forward, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Shiori…" The woman hadn't moved from her spot, her face buried against the redhead's chest as her arms encircled around his upper torso. She was still sobbing, and the man gently pried her off, and she glanced back to the body on the bed—then gasped, dark brown eyes widening beneath thin strands of black—

"S-Suuichi! Dear, look!" To this, all eyes turned to the redhead… and the koorime gasped softly, as well, voice softly stuttering—

"H-he looks… like he did, thirty years ago…" To this, Shiori broke out into a new row of tears, turning to bury her face into her husband's shoulder, shoulders shaking with a few restrained sobs.

"Wh-Why… how can he look not a day older than fifteen?! Why am I seeing my teenage boy lying here dead, like this, when he's lived so many better years beyond those tough ones, so long ago—" Gently, her husband led her out, guiding her out the door and into the hallway (and the waiting doctors) beyond.

With a flick of his tail, the kitsune realized it was time to leave.

A flicker of white disappearing into a silvery portal, and he was gone.

: : :

Triangular ears twitched atop his head, long silver strands blown away by the seductively blood-scented Makai wind. A slight smirk touched upon the youko's face as he tipped his nose into the fragrance—ahh, he'd missed this world. Long-nailed, slender fingers moved up to brush the shining strands out of his face, as he breathed in the air for the first time in many years…

Although it had taken a bit of his long-renowned brilliance, he'd managed to escape Suuichi's dying body in time. He had the vague recollection of being present during the death, but he couldn't be sure… his memories of that time were half-caught between unconsciousness and a faint slew of events that his kitsune spirit-self had observed. Hell, even if he'd been watching how his Minamino body had died it was unlikely he would've recognized anyone—the older, more permanent memories were the first to transfer, and as such he could only recall a hospital room and various visitors before he high-tailed it out of the Ningenkai and began his journey back to his 'real' home. Since his energy was a bit low (due to his human half's long sickness, most likely) it had taken a good bit of effort to navigate within the subspace periphery field. Musing lightly over how long it had actually been—the youko found he couldn't really judge the time. An elegant, slight shrug of pale, muscular shoulders dismissed this. He'd find out soon enough.

Ahhhh… there was a slight grin, then, as he recognized a power flare a good ways away. Apparently, his return had been noticed. It was met with another familiar spike of energy, and soon the two of them were racing in his direction. Amused, the youko didn't seek to move from his current spot—leisurely standing at the top of the crest of a grassy hill, white robes billowing as the wind curled around his silvery form and his ears twitched softly against the moving air, tail lazily playing with the breeze.

Perhaps only half-an-hour later, the first ki presence stopped behind him, and the kitsune easily tipped a glance backward, golden depths tinted with amusement at the widened red eyes behind him. The Jaganshi was utterly still, sword drawn as if by habit… and the youko found himself unable to resist a chuckle.

"…surprised to see me, Hiei~?" The shock in those crimson eyes was too dear to behold… they were yet widened, but then narrowed suddenly—as if their owner had realized exactly what his expression must look like. There was a yet a flicker of doubt in the depths of that gaze, though.

"…Kurama?"

"Kurama!"

Blinking sharply, the youko had absolutely no reaction time as he was tackled from the front by a tanned, blurred outline of a body—which then revealed itself to be an all-too-familiar toushin, as those golden depths moved themselves to glance up at the too-wide roan ones overhead… he lifted a hand to brush one of the long brown forelocks of the other's away from his face, expression softening at the sorrowful lines he saw etched in the other's face…

"…hello, Yuusuke."

Those expressive brown depths blinked sharply, and suddenly the brunet grinned in joy, arms wrapping around the silver one's shoulders as he whooped with happiness, tugging the youko along to roll in the grass and the fox had to chuckle—eventually stopping him by sitting up, an overjoyed toushin yet clinging to his neck and still muttering happy sounds as he pressed close to the fox's form. Warmed saffron hues slid to the fire youkai across the way—Hiei still hadn't moved, the wind lightly billowing his ebony cloak and white scarf behind him as that crimson gaze just continued to stare at the two entwined in an embrace… almost as though he was afraid to step closer.

Raising the hand that wasn't currently wound around the affectionate brunet's waist, Kurama shifted to beckon the other over, calling out to him as golden hues glimmered gently, tone lit with a tenderness that spoke of old jade eyes and lyrical alto tones, now lost forever—

"Come here, firebaby…"

A blur of black had a second demon attached to him and the youko chuckled, winding a secure arm around that thin waist and leaning to kiss the middle of the white starburst half-buried into his collarbone. He felt the wiry form tremble—albeit only slightly, barely able to be felt—pressing only closer to the fox as aforementioned youko settled to hole up both of his lovers in a possessive embrace, alternating between nuzzling gently to the brunet's softly spiky locks and petting at them, or resting his cheek against Hiei's hair and simply breathing in the scent...

For a while they simply sat there like that, in silence—basking in one another's presence as though they'd been separated for years.

: : :

Hours later, the trio lay beneath a tall tree on the edge of a forest—sunlight lazily trailing down as clawed fingers pet through the ebony spokes beneath, eliciting a faint throaty hum from the Jaganshi who was curled up at the youko's side, head pillowed in Kurama's lap as one arm was thrown over the silvery one's far thigh. Yuusuke was the one leaned against the trunk, actually—the kitsune settled quite comfortably between his legs as strong arms were wound about his waist, the brunet's thick mane providing a comfortable pillow to lean his head on, as the toushin had propped his chin on the fox's shoulder, keeping close…

The murmur that wondered at an odd fact brought a soft chuckle to the surface—even as Kurama's fingers didn't cease in their caress of ebony strands, his free hand moving to palm one of the arms snaked so possessively over his own abdomen.

"Ah… hm… so Suuichi's body looked young, at the end? I was wondering about that…"

"Yeah…" Came the muttered reply from behind his neck, teeth idly nipping at pale skin and the youko tipped his head to the side, optics sliding leisurely half-shut as the conversation continued—"…it was really weird… 'cause we'd just gotten there 'n' then you looked like you did, those thirty-some years ago when we were all fighting as the reikai tantei—" Kurama felt a soft nostalgic smile curve against his skin, at this… but it was replaced by a frown all too soon, as well as a reflexive tightening of the arms around him. "…but then…"

"Your heartbeat stopped, and Yuusuke tried to shake you from the dead." Was the lazy finishing of that thought from a mumbled tone buried into his lap… and Kurama had to blink in mild surprise, tone turning thoughtful.

"Ah, I see…" Hiei snorted, rolling so as to face the fox (although not disturbing the hand in his hair, so much), garnet optics bearing up upon the youko—and so the silver-haired one smiled, moving that same hand to brush the other's bangs off his headband, in an affectionate gesture, offering an explanation likely the both of them were wondering over…

"—I'm a youko, ne~?" Red eyes looked like they wanted to roll, and so Kurama playfully tugged at the white-black bangs, gently. "…and as such, illusions are one of my specialties." A soft purr from the back of the fox's throat, deft digits burying themselves in spiky black fur, once more—"It was kit's play for me to present the appearance of aging to the humans I was surrounded by. However…" A soft shrug, then, the tall fox idly settling back against the comforting form of the toushin behind him—"Once I'd been removed from that body, it was naturally impossible for me to keep the illusion… and with that gone, it is of course logical that I'd suddenly appear to be younger, since that body never really aged after my teen years."

Silence. Perhaps he had better elaborate…

"…Put simply, when you saw Suuichi's form change from old to young, it merely meant that my kitsune spirit had completely withdrawn from the human body, and could thus no longer keep up the illusion of age."

More silence.

And then—

A snicker. The youko lofted a brow, glancing back at the brunet behind him—but Yuusuke just buried his laughter into the fox's neck, arms tightening around the silver one as he guffawed. Kurama huffed, lightly—although not really minding the laughter. When the toushin had calmed, some, he shook his head, cuddling up more to the youko in front of him. Hiei muttered.

"Crazy fox…" A responding chuckle, head tipping down to press a kiss against the hankoorime's forehead.

"I've been told that, yes~"

Yuusuke was curiously silent, and so after Hiei had responded to the kitsune's kiss with a warm meeting of lips… he spoke up, voice curious.

"…so does this mean you can make us think we're having sex with either you or anyone else?"

There was a pregnant pause.

. . .

And then the fox huffed, tipping sight back to eye the one behind him.

"…are you implying that you would prefer to think you're having sex with someone else, Yuusuke?"

"Hn. Stupid detective."

"O-oi, I didn't mean it like that…" Cheeks puffed out in defiance, brown eyes narrowing at the twin disapproving stares bearing down upon him—Hiei had sat up to be sure the toushin didn't miss his.

Simultaneously, a brow lofted itself over one golden orb of the kitsune, and one red orb of the Jaganshi, to that stuttering attempt to diffuse their nearly-identical glares.

Yuusuke huffed, at that, wrinkling his nose a bit and canting his sight off to the side, mumbling…

"I was jus' wonderin' if it meant we could pretend to have Kurama's old body, too… y'know… like the old days—"

Softness was abruptly called back to saffron optics in realization, at this—a gentle ghost of a whisper moving to brush a kiss against the toushin's cheek—

"Yuusuke…" Another kiss—this time to his temple—golden depths slipping quietly shut.

"Youko are shape-shifters, too…"

A light glow of youki, and suddenly the form between the two other youkai was more slender, more delicate, more familiar—and both brown and red eyes widened, marginally, as emerald eyes gazed kindly into each of them in turn from beneath scarlet bangs, a warm smile tugging at the kitsune's lips as he finished the sentence.

"…you don't need an illusion, love."

~*~End~*~


	2. Thirty Years Ago

Disclaimer: I don't own Yuu Yuu Hakusho, or any of its characters. Those belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama, who made a lot more out of them than I ever could have. ^^;; I just do fanfiction for fun, and earn no monetary rewards for writing it. Reviews are, of course, worth as much as silver.

Original summary: Kurama's dying. It's been thirty years since the reikai tantei. Only a few months ago, they found an inoperable brain tumor, and already...

Title: Loss  
Chapter Two: Thirty Years Ago  
Word Count: 8,322 (8,971 with intro)  
Anime: Yuu Yuu Hakusho  
Pairing: KuramaxHiei, HieixKurama, mentioned KuramaxYuusuke, mentioned YuusukexKeiko

Warning: Shounen ai, lime, possible lemon  
Author: Kita Kitsune  
Date: Thursday(tree-day!), December 4, 2008

Miscellaneous Notes: Finished in eight hours! I dun know if that's great, or not. xD I just started writing, and it kept coming. The 'lemon' scene (I'm not really sure what to call it Oo;;) seems weird, to me… but maybe someone will like this(I really like the intro bit!). :3 I might get some other fics out over the next few weeks, but this one's good for now~ (it's fifteen pages in Microsoft Word, ten-point Arial font~!). ^^

Misc. Notes(Tuesday, July 28, 2009): Waha. Did you all die from waiting so long? I'm bad at updating this account in a timely manner. All the more reason to check the other account linked to on my homepage(although I've gotten no new reviews on the other account, at all, so any silver love for me on here would be greatly appreciated. x.x I'm iffy on the 'lemon' for this chapter, still, and with no reviews as either good or bad reinforcement... the other account has all the italics and bold addition-things in the right places, too. It's way too much trouble to go through and find all of those in an entire chapter--and correct them--when I post them on this site instead of my usual one.)! ;3

: : : : : : :

~ One Year Ago ~

A quiet gaze filtered out from the obscurity of the night-darkness, watching the hospital bed that the redhead reclined upon. Kurama—no, Minamino Suuichi waved away his wife and her worried eyes, ruffled his son's hair and smiled at his daughter, sending his family on their way to get some much-needed rest. Once they had gone he sighed, slumping back into the sheets and silently glad that visiting hours were over. A nurse came in to fuss over him, but he waved her off, merely asking that she turn the lights off as she left. She blushed a bit, being only a young intern—Kurama was still beautiful and charming, even at the human age of forty-five. Eventually the lady left, and he shifted after a while, gazing warmly at the window and letting a truer smile flicker onto his face. A kind voice echoed to the empty room, filtering out to the tree branch whose twigs scraped against the glass so nearby—

"It's unlocked, you know."

Slowly—with the caution of an animal unaccustomed to human contact—a dark shadow appeared on the branch, two garnet orbs locked on the patient green ones found glimmering in the beautiful face of the form reclined on the sparse bed. As the small, dark youkai approached, the branch bowed under his slight weight… and then he disappeared, only to rematerialize a moment later inside the room, directly by Kurama's bedside. A hand, wires attached to an index finger, lifted gently, and the moonlight glinted off the former youko's eyes in a stunning pattern of light and darkness.

Paler, smaller fingers moved to trace along the slender digits of the redhead, ruby depths almost disappearing as he glanced down and away towards the interaction of the palms as the kitsune grasped his hand, warmly, pulling it close and softly kissing the back of it. Jade depths glimmered with true happiness beneath the shadowing scarlet bangs that appeared dark grey with the lack of light. It had been so long, since he'd seen Hiei…

"I'm glad you came." Bandaged fingers of the entrapped hand moved to trace over the redhead's jaw, and discerning emerald eyes spotted a shudder along that slim frame clad in black. In another moment Kurama had scooted back towards the other side of the bed, pulling the diminutive demon onto the mattress with him, and wrapping arms warmly around the little Jaganshi, sighing into his hair and rubbing his cheek against the spiky strands.

"I've missed you, my dear…" The hankoorime simply allowed himself to be pulled to the redhead's chest, ears hungrily seeking out the safe thrum of that human heart. A sound—he realized with a chill—that would likely be gone, all too soon. He shuddered, again… but if Kurama noticed it, he only pulled the small youkai closer, encasing him in warm arms and the soft, flowery scent of green gardens and rainy, misty mornings that the redhead always seemed to exude. Calloused hands traveled up, digits winding around scarlet forelocks and he tugged, gently, giving a silent request that he wanted to see the fox's face and so Kurama withdrew enough that he could lean his forehead on the warded one of his lover's, jade depths guilelessly seeking out that garnet gaze. They had an intent, and yet none at all, in their search…

A shivery breath ghosted over pliable tiers, crimson eyes shadowed with something terribly akin to pain as a low whisper tried to fight its way to the air.

"Why do you always get hurt, Kurama…" A sweet, slightly saddened smile of nostalgia crossed over his face, jade depths closing with a sigh as he leaned down a bit, red bangs mixing with black, but it was all only similar shades of grey in the darkness of the night…

"I suppose it's my bad luck, firebaby…"

: : :

~ Thirty Years Ago ~

"Kurama!"

The fox demon paused, quickly scanning the room around him for the reason for the sudden call. Green eyes widened as they landed upon a small, black box flying harmlessly through the air—

"No!" Crying out, the redhead hurriedly recalled the thorns on his whip, slashing it out towards the falling treasure and watching as the end securely wrapped around the small object. Jerking his arm back, the item traveled the length of the extended whip in his hand, slender fingers latching safely around it as he held it firmly to his abdomen. A glance caught their leader's brown eyes and a brief nodded smile of relieved approval was given, before the tantei returned to his previous task.

"Out of my way, demon scum!" A burst of blue light flew from the end of the brunet's index finger, bathing them all in the eerie glow as it advanced upon its target. The huge youkai unlucky enough to catch the brunt of it roared its death for all to hear—but this didn't stop its surrounding fellows. Kurama had to move quickly, long whip sweeping downward while his free arm curved down in a graceful backward arc as he threw himself back and a rock demon burst from the ground previously under his feet. The green vine snapped through the demon's chest and face, directly in the center, and the kitsune rushed through the gore, quickly slicing any further enemies that appeared—somehow without getting a drop of purple blood upon the expensive Chinese silk he wore.

The slashing sound of the orange rei-ken wielded by the only fully human member of their team hummed vibrantly in the background as it swiped through more skulls and flesh. The smell of burnt skin reached the kitsune's sharp senses and verdant hues quickly shifted to take in the smoldering carcass of yet another cluster of demon guards. In another instant a companion was at his side, a black-purple blur from the glinting Eye on his forehead. Garnet hues slipped to meet jade with a tight smirk upon catching sight of the ebony box clutched safely against Kurama's side, his bandaged hand tightening around the bloodstained sword in its grasp. A quick smile from the taller of the two met that look, scarlet strands flirting with the kitsune's own face and in the next moment they'd separated—leaping oppositely upward in an eerily coordinated, mirrored movement and thoroughly confounding the lumbering elephant youkai behind them as it stopped, stupidly blinking at the empty space where the two demons had been. Its death was short, but not painless—a long, again-thorny vine ripping through its head mercilessly as its intestines were strewn out on the ground from the sword wrenched into its gut. From the sword, red flames ate up the flesh-fuel given to them, and the green whip was extracted swiftly so as not to catch fire, itself.

For a brief instant, Kurama allowed himself to take in the situation.

Blue reiki with undertones of red youki—but still massive and shining. Emerald depths shifted upward, spying the tantei leader on the second floor, running along the balcony and bringing destruction through the ranks of guards as he went—using his fists and concentrating his energy until they glowed blue with the Reihado technique.

Orange reiki—loud and honest. That gaze snapped around until it fell upon the source of it—the tall carrot-top fighting his way through the last few demons that stood between him and the stairs down to the first floor.

Purple, almost black, youki—secretive and loyal. Beside him—before it flit away, a hoarse voice yelling through the din to catch the attention of the 'two' humans.

"Fool! You'll bring down the—" Too late. A slashing spirit sword had cut through one of the supporting columns in a fit of unfocused bravado as it killed yet another youkai, and the mansion ceiling above them began to groan. Everything stopped.

For a heartbeat.

Then it was more confusion and chaos as the remaining guard demons gave up their posts and fled, heading for the door where the kitsune stood, watching all this. He rushed to the side to avoid the worst of them, running back into the foyer of the crumbling ballroom from his place at the door's threshold, taking quick stock of the situation before swiftly kneeling to the floor, the palm not cradling the black treasure box to his stomach splaying out on the marble and reaching down, down, deeper, deeper—until he felt the stirrings of soil. Kurama pulled at it, coaxed the small, old seeds buried there to put out the feelers of life—he heard Hiei's quiet, curt voice yelling again, and Kuwabara's loud, annoyed response, but didn't spare any more thought for it.

The redhead concentrated on the plant, eyes closing and feeding it more of his youki. In only a few moments the Makai grass shot through the marble floor as though it were water, drawing great cracks and fissures in it that led to dark pits beneath the earth. Long, broad leaves reminiscent of discolored grass blades swept up, guided by their master's will to ensnare the sources of the blue reiki, the orange reiki, and the nearly-black youki. Pink aura waved lazily around the fox as he swayed slightly with the effort put on an already-exhausted body, but he kept his position, brow knitting in concentration as the plant faithfully swept his friends out of harm's way and into the foyer where he was—out of danger—the ballroom collapsing just as the last of them cleared it. Dust clouded upward, enveloping the team in it and he coughed, swaying a bit more on his bent knees before strong hands found him and helped pull him out of the ensuing rubble.

: : :

Sunlight streamed from the stormy Makai sky far above, dappling the ground between patches of rain clouds. They stood at the entrance to the ruined mansion—well, all but Kurama, who was half-leaned on Yuusuke, his arm drawn around the brunet's shoulders for support. The four friends glanced at one another, before, soundlessly, seven eyes settled on the fox.

"Did you get it?" A wry smile, as the dust-covered—but intact—ebony box was brought away from its place curled against the redhead's abdomen and granted the light of day.

"I'm not the most famous thief in Makai legend for nothing, you know." Kurama winked. A snort followed the action.

"Hn. Then maybe next time you'll take charge of the item yourself, instead of letting THIS idiot—" A swift, curt jerk of head towards the carrot-top standing on the other side of the kitsune, red eyes narrowing. "—risk dropping it while he's being attacked." A finely chiseled face contorted in fury.

"What's that, Hiei?!" A fist found its home in the tattered remains of the collar of the short demon's black shirt, dragging the Jaganshi up a few inches so he could stare meanly into the garnet hues beneath. The fire youkai's expression was bored, red depths flat beneath the spattering of black bangs that just barely revealed the opened Jagan.

"Are you denying that your blunder could have cost us the entire mission?" Lips pursed in anger and consternation—he couldn't deny it, Hiei was right. But that didn't mean he had to—!

"Che!" He dropped the demon, hands settling akimbo on his hips as the human boy looked arrogantly up at the sky. "I was the one who sensed where it was, don't forget! If YOU can pick a lingering Reikai signature on an item less than fifteen centimeters (six inches) big out of all these overlapping auras I'd like to see you TRY, half-pint!" A growl floated up to the air, dark ki flaring.

"I'd rather be a true asset to the team than the liability you are, human! You nearly brought the entire place down on us!"

"Oi, oi, guys…" The argument broke off as the brunet waved a hand—even though he couldn't help the smirking smile that snuck onto his lips. "Save the fighting for kindergarten, 'mkay? We got it, it's done. Now we just need to get back to Koenma…"

The comment earned a glare from both the diminutive youkai and the tall, muscle-bound human—but, as Yuusuke was the leader (and could easily kick both of their asses… not that they would admit willingly to it) they deferred to his 'authority', both looking away with a mutter under their breath. The tantei ignored them both, respectively, instead glancing at the effeminate redhead yet slumped over his shoulder. He nudged the older boy, a bit.

"Hey, Kurama. You all right… ?" Jade depths framed by dark lashes rose, head canting lightly to the side and claret bangs following the motion with a soft wisp of air as the kitsune smiled, warmly.

"I'm just a little tired, Yuusuke. I'll be fine once we—"

"THIEVES!" The foursome started in surprise, all eyes scanning around for the source of the voice… Hiei found it first, noting the darkening shadow descending from above.

"Move!" He leaped forward, hands pushing his team mates out of the way and causing the three of them to land in an awkward pile as a thick spear—easily as tall as a man and just about as thick as the culmination of Kurama's math, science and English literature schoolbooks—jutted from the ground precisely where the two had been standing. With a yell Kuwabara relit his rei-ken, and charged at the demon, slashing and successfully distracting it enough to allow Hiei time to roll off the pair beneath him and to his feet, Yuusuke scrambling up not a few moments later. Kurama was slower to follow suit, the small scratches along his arms and legs from the incessant fighting sending unpleasant little twinges of pain up his body—but he did manage it, one arm curved around his abdomen, discreetly hiding the black box behind its counterpart as emerald depths narrowed quietly, taking in their new foe.

"Kurama? Any idea who this is… ?" It was a hushed whisper from their leader, as the three watched Kuwabara struggle with the youkai, yelling and slashing, and parrying the huge spear. It was a good thing he was easily the most physically strong of them all… that weapon was pure Makai steel, and looked as though it weighed more than the demon wielding it!

"It must be the master of the house…" Came the murmured reply, equally quiet as jade depths followed the circling path of the two fighters before them.

"Hn." The sound of the hankoorime's sword being unsheathed shone faintly in the otherwise-dull clearing.

"Right, then! One more to go!" Cracking his knuckles, the brunet rushed in to the scene, a dark breath of air following after him as the Jaganshi disappeared with his infamous speed. The redhead slowly backed away from the fray, cautiously scanning the area around. If there was one survivor, there could be more. And he was in no condition to fight… Quietly, Kurama made for the trees, still stealthily backing away but intending to hide himself amidst the greenery. Even if his youki was low, floral objects still recognized the persuasion of it and greeted him with softly-shaken boughs and a rustling of leaves as though the wind were passing through.

Luck was not with him, today, however. The youkai fighting his friends had noticed his silent retreat, beady eyes narrowing as it discerned that the redhead was either injured, or… hiding something! Those black coals widened in rage, and he roared, sending his youki around him and pushing off the attacks of the others.

"THIEF! Give it back!" He rushed through the circle of stunned tantei, quick, forceful steps advancing on the kitsune and the youkai grinned with a sort of satisfied malice as he approached, watching green optics widen as the redhead tried to step back into the safety of the trees. Kurama chanced a glance behind him—no, they were still too far to do any good. Dammit! He cursed, inwardly, bracing himself to dodge out of the way, the large spear barely missing him as his wearied limbs did not want to move. It was a spectacular dodge, though—one arm supporting his entire body as his legs kicked up in an acrobatic art of movement, the other still tucked against his stomach and keeping a careful hold on the small black box held between his fingers. Emerald hues were yet locked on his attacker, however, and as the adrenaline began to pump through his veins once more, he found it was easier to keep going. He dodged, ducked, and rolled out of the way, if he needed to—and soon the beautiful sky-blue Chinese tunic he had worn on this particular mission was covered in dirt and a bit more blood, a few of the scratches along limbs, wrists and ankles having opened with the twisting movements and also staining the torn and bruised white long-sleeved pants and shirt he wore, beneath.

Kurama heard someone call his name after only a few moments of this—and took only a second to glance back at where his friends were. Yuusuke and Kuwabara seemed to be fighting some sort of stunning spell—their movements were slow and sluggish—but Hiei was nowhere to be seen. Then the Jaganshi appeared right above him, tackling the fox and rolling with him over the ground as, in that moment of distraction, the youkai they had been fighting had taken advantage of the instant of non-focus and had made to impale him through the gut with his massive weapon. The sound of the heavy spear hitting the ground with all its malicious intent sent shudders through the earth, and Hiei was up on his feet in another instant, standing protectively over the injured fox as garnet hues burned defiantly up at the lumbering demon while he stepped towards them. The hankoorime shuddered—it was honestly unnoticeable, but the kitsune's sharp eyes did not miss the slight tensed shiver along the line of those slim shoulders, sight traveling down to Hiei's bound arm… oh, no. Verdant eyes widened as he realized he'd forgotten, in the heat of the moment—

Hiei had used the Jagan, earlier—some mind-spell had been wrapped around the treasure, and he'd carefully unwound it from the box, but not without taking a great deal of concentration and ki. He couldn't summon the Dragon, not without it threatening to burn off his entire arm, again—due to the lack of energy that was required to call it from the depths of Makai. A gasp tore from his throat, and the redhead struggled to sit up—with the flurry of battle disrupted, his second wind was gone, leaving him to sore muscles and leaden limbs. Another yell echoed from the area where Kuwabara and Yuusuke were stranded, sounding frustrated and fearful of his team mates' fates.

Clutching the black box in his hand, the kitsune grit his teeth and pushed himself to his feet, free hand snapping out to rest on the shorter demon's shoulder as his wavering legs did not grant him enough stability. Red depths momentarily flicked back to the fox, body shifting slightly to accommodate the added weight before the crimson hues resettled their glare upon the youkai, deft fingers tightening over the bandaged hilt of his sword. A low, rumbling laugh echoed to the air, and the youkai reached out a hand, grinning once more and revealing ugly, misshapen rows of teeth behind curled lips. He quirked his large fingers upward, in a blatant motion to ask for something.

"So, thieves. You can return it now, and let me kill you, or you can return it AFTER I kill you!" He laughed harder, hand still extended in a mockery of a request. Garnet depths narrowed. A quick motion, and a small spat of spit could be spotted on the opened palm. To the other demon's shock and growing rage the fire youkai smirked, the expression only pulling up a corner of his mouth to reveal a fang, face looking positively wicked as blood-red optics glinted meanly beneath the churning violet pupil of the Jagan.

"Hn. Then I guess we're not returning it." Slender fingers brushed over the shorter youkai's shoulder in quiet squeeze of assent to that, and it was too obvious to Hiei—even without seeing Kurama's face, at the moment—that the dangerous glare in those emerald hues was as firm as the defiant, smoldering one he himself was sporting.

"Insolent—!" The demon's face contorted in an emotion that can only be spotted in a blasphemous affront to one's pride, and with a roar he brought the spear up, sharpened edges glittering against the light as it descended. "Those will be the last words you ever say!"

Hiei felt the fingers on his shoulder tighten, and all too soon he was wrenched out of harm's way, jerked back and he felt the briefest touch of cool fingers on the front of his bare shoulders before he was pushed away, and eyes widened as he watched the kitsune smile to him, warmly, seemingly uncaring to the spear gliding downward in an almost slow motion, set to rend his skull and form in twain—

"Kura—!" He reached out in that fleeting instant, trying to grasp onto some part of the fox, to drag him along—digits closed around a scarlet forelock and…

Everything went white.

: : :

The first thing Hiei became aware of was that… they were trapped. No—encased, in something. He experimentally ran the fingers of one hand over the substance… smooth, like glass—but tough, like stone. It did not give under the pressure of his fingers.

The second thing Hiei became aware of was that Kurama was slumped onto his chest, the kitsune's breath quick and surprised, and in another moment the fox tried to rise—only to have his feet slide against the curved, smooth surface of the object that surrounded them and flop forward onto the koorime's tattered black shirt once more, a rueful chuckle muffled into the rough fabric.

"Let's try that again…" The muttered tone was laced with self-reflecting amusement, slender hands coming up to steady his weight by pressing into Hiei's shoulders and he slowly pushed himself off, smiling apologetically at the poor little demon pinned by his taller form against the curved, misty-white wall behind him. Jade depths blinked softly, and the hankoorime idly observed them for a long moment before tipping his chin up and away, quietly scanning the curved ceiling above with narrowed depths.

"Hn. We're in a sphere, of some sort." Those verdant hues blinked again, following the Jaganshi's gaze… and the kitsune nodded, thoughtfully, carefully placing his feet on the very bottom of the sphere, working to keep his balance as he pushed off of the demon yet pinned against the curved wall behind him, slim digits momentarily brushing over pale skin before he retracted them, those skilled fingertips moving to instead map out the area around them, tracing the edges of the sphere—it was just about as high as Kurama's arm would reach over his head, perhaps little more, and roughly as wide. Enough room to move, but still rather close…

"Ah, I see…" Pensively, he moved his foot slightly, for a better angle to map out the sphere—and it brushed against a hard, square object. Noticing it by feel at first, the kitsune glanced down, then lowered himself to crouch precariously on the one 'flat' spot in the sphere, and took the item up. "Oh…" Garnet depths flicked to the fox as the Jaganshi slowly—and with a great amount of dignity—slid down the curved wall at his back so as to seat himself beside the redhead, eying the item in Kurama's hands.

"…hn." A disdainful scoff. "Koenma should have told us it was a kekkai-producer." For that's what it must be—although the hankoorime couldn't understand why it had activated when it did. Shrugging the thought off, one bandaged hand moved to take the square, ebony lid from the fox's open one, fingers carefully tracing and surveying the cylindrical indentation in the black velvet of the bottom half of the box.

"The item must have been here." Hiei glanced up, eyes narrowing at the identical white cylinder—a perfect match, it seemed, for the indentation in the box—hovering far above at the crest of the cloudy sphere. It was glowing brightly, and spinning quickly. If he focused with the Jagan, he could see past the hazy-white sphere and notice the pulses of light that traveled downward to create the barrier—much like the lines of light in a human television, that were too fast to see with the common naked eye. His red gaze narrowed, and he held up a hand as Kurama started to speak, letting that pair of eyes close as he concentrated on the Third. He could see beyond the sphere, now—Yuusuke and Kuwabara were still fighting the youkai from before. But the battle was strangely deafened… he couldn't hear a word they were saying, nor the sounds of rei-ken on spear as they sparred, or the tell-tale hum of Yuusuke's power as it accumulated in his fist. He mused over this, for a moment…

"What is it… ?" The inquiry came from surprisingly close, and crimson depths blinked open in muted shock as they fell upon Kurama's concerned jade ones, so near. The Jaganshi blinked again, frowning slightly, but not leaning back as he sought to answer his friend's question.

"…we're trapped in here." Slender red brows lifted in mild surprise, before canting upward to the spinning cylinder at the top, once more.

"It protected us when we needed it… but it activated automatically." Hiei could see the kitsune's mind working furiously behind those red bangs that shielded his vision, as he continued to think aloud. "If Koenma had told us how to deactivate it—"

"But he didn't, as that stupid godling never gives us enough information." The Jaganshi growled out in a low breath. A wry, melodic chuckle followed that.

"Indeed…" Slender fingers rapped silently on the redhead's chin in thought. "Well… Yuusuke and Kuwabara-kun are both in better condition than we are, ne~?" A soft smile greeted the peeved look that met his comment—clearly, Hiei didn't like the idea of being 'weaker' than the human carrot-top for any amount of time whatsoever. Digits retreated from skin to ruffle ebony and ivory-spiked bangs in a fond move.

"I suppose we'll simply have to wait for them to finish up, and we'll get out of here when we're back in Reikai. Koenma did send us to find this item, after all." An amused glance was canted up to the busied white cylinder far above, before his expression turned mildly serious, once more, sight resettling on the koorime stuck in here with him.

"However, we'll have to simply trust in Yuusuke's judgment… as since we cannot see out of here without your Jagan, and cannot hear them—it is safe to assume that the same goes for those on the outside." The redhead sighed, softly, leaning back against his side of the small sphere.

"It must be deactivated from the inside, then, but since we do not know how…" Kurama's hand moved carefully, to pluck the black box's lid from Hiei's bandaged one—but his own fingers digressed, absently tracing along the rough edges of the bindings before taking the sought object and reapplying it to the bottom half of the box, only to set it off to the side. Dark jade glinted quietly in the cloudy white light that emitted from the walls which surrounded them as he reclined once more—and a slow smile, half mysterious and half mildly vexed at their current situation met the garnet hues across the way.

"We will simply have to wait."

: : :

"Dammit! Kurama! Hiei!" All Yuusuke saw was the demon advancing on his battle-wearied comrades (Kurama being more honest than Hiei, about that) with the intent to cut them to pieces, and the overwhelming sense that his friends were in real danger engulfed him. Flexing his spiritual muscles with a loud bellow he broke the chains of the stunning spell wrapped around him in a blinding release of swirling red youki, and took off at a run for the youkai who'd stopped abruptly in front of that odd, hovering white sphere that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The excessive overflow of his power had broken Kuwabara from the spell, too, and soon he heard his friend barreling up behind him, rei-ken reignited in light of the fiery passion of a bond between friends that required his unworthy foe to meet his doom!—or something like that. The carrot-top often spouted so much nonsense during a battle that the brunet tuned out to what he was actually saying, most of the time… Regardless, the two teens tag-teamed the youkai, fueled by their desire to aid their friends—and too worried to bother distracting themselves with the fact that Kurama and Hiei were nowhere to be seen.

Eventually, Kuwabara parried and fought with the demon, taking advantage of his brawny muscles and exceptional stamina to take the brunt of the heavy spear's thrusts and slices without too much ill effect. It left Yuusuke open to gather his energy in a mighty cyclone—not unlike the sort he had finished Jin off with, back during the Tournament. When he was ready he called out to his friend to get out of there, and rushed the demon, arm swinging back to deliver a deadly blow to the youkai's wide stomach. The taller boy jumped out of the way just in time, and was privy to the lovely sight of Yuusuke's energy-strengthened fist blasting a huge hole through the demon's abdomen, the column of ki escaping out the other side with the clean, utterly-destructive hit. The youkai gurgled, clutching the hole in his abdomen and it was here that Kuwabara cut off its head—just for good measure. Youkai could stand up to a hell of a lot, and there was no sense in taking chances. If there was one thing he learned throughout his years as a reikai tantei, it was that.

The two victors stood over the carcass, watching as it twitched in its death throes before stilling altogether. The taller one snorted, kicking the demon in the leg as he called his rei-ken to disperse, once more. Kuwabara glanced over at the white sphere floating in the middle of nowhere—and his brows furrowed. Walking over to it, he raised a hand to touch it—and yelped as a crackling of defensive energy bristled against the curious finger, sending him flying backwards a few feet onto his rear, in the dirt. He glared up at the thing, pointing an accusing finger at it as if to say 'I'll get you ilater/i, for that!'.

Yuusuke snorted, striding over as well and circling around the thing carefully. Without another word, he reached into his pocket and flipped open the compact communicator, waiting patiently as the screen fuzzed with grey feedback until Botan's cheery face appeared on the circular screen—well, it would have been cheery if her bangs hadn't been in curlers and her face smeared in what looked suspiciously like a recipe out of a Ningenkai beauty magazine.

He snickered, despite himself.

"What, you going on a date, Botan? Looks nice." Fuschia orbs narrowed at the grinning detective, and a squall of angry shouting greeted his 'hilarious' jab.

"Yuusuke! What is it this time?! You know I'm a busy—"

"We're on a mission, and you're in the Spirit World spa?" The tone was flat, matching the dead-panned expression in those darkening chocolate eyes. The ferry girl tittered nervously, pressing the tips of her index fingers together and doing her best to look guiltless—although it wasn't too convincing.

"W-Well, you see—this coupon is only good until the end of the century, and I usually don't get a day off, now, what with Koenma-sama sending you guys on new missions after Enma-daioh-sama decided that it was better to keep you under tabs by WORKING for Reikai instead of just being a loose demonic cannon and—"

"BOTAN!" She flinched, then sighed, blinking quietly and gazing flatly at the detective's annoyed face in her own circular compact communicator. Oh, and they were calling her name back at the counter, too! She pouted. It wasn't fair. The ONE time she actually got in at the Spirit World spa, and it HAD to be while Yuusuke and the others were on a—

"iBOTAN!!!/i" The ditzy Grim Reaper blinked, again, and offered a sunny smile (even through her gloppy seaweed 'beauty mask') to the much-more-impatient hanyou glaring back at her from the small device. The next inquiry was perfectly sweet and compliant—as though she hadn't been making the boy wait when he was obviously in a hurry for answers. Ah, well, best just let Yuusuke get on with it—

"Yes, Yuusuke~?" He snorted, jabbing a thumb behind his shoulder to the floating white sphere that Kuwabara was eying suspiciously, and edging closer to, bit by bit…

"Oi. We retrieved the cylinder-thing—"

"That's great news, Yuusuke!" Maybe she could get in for a quick treatment, anyway—

"But I think it activated itself." Pink eyes blinked. What?

"See, Kurama and Hiei were being attacked, and then there was this white flash of light and now they're gone, but this weird white sphere-thingy is floating where they were, and—" A high-pitched yelp was heard, off-screen. The brunet yelled over his shoulder, irately.

"Dammit, Kuwabara, don't touch it if you know it's going to shock you!" Brown depths returned to the screen and the ferry girl's countenance within it, slightly narrowed with worry.

"Anyway, we don't know what's up, but if you could get us to Reikai pronto so Koenma can turn it off or whatever, that'd probably be good." She nodded, quickly, cerulean hair bouncing with the movement and a few escaped strands plastering themselves to her gooped-up cheeks and temples.

"Oh, of course, of course, Yuusuke—" Ah, there they were, calling her name again! It was her last chance! Dancing on one foot, she reasoned with the situation. Koenma-sama hadn't told them what the item was called, only given them a picture and the mansion where it was held. It was all very secretive, and she couldn't—oh, she icouldn't/i—let it slip if Koenma-sama hadn't wanted to tell them the significance of the item. Hurriedly, she made up her mind, absently offering up a hasty response to Yuusuke before snapping the communicator shut and hurrying over to the counter, claiming her spot and scampering after the beautician—but not before flipping open her compact once more, on the way to the room, and babbling a quick video message to Koenma-sama.

: : :

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The amber-eyed young beaurocrat of Reikai blinked. What was that? There was a beeping, coming from somewhere on his desk—eying the stacks upon stacks of papers piled in growing mountains on the wooden surface, he pushed aside the mess with his stamp, coming at last upon a what was beeping—a red button, at the front of his desk. He could've smacked himself for wasting time. Agitatedly pressing the glowing button, he sat back in his tall chair, slumping in the much-too-big piece of furniture as a familiar face popped up on the screen.

…Or, it would have been familiar, if not for the seaweed goop smeared all over it.

He raised a brow.

Well, best not to question what women do to their own faces…

"Koenma-sama, Koenma-sama! The Shield of Aphrodite activated itself while Yuusuke and the others were retrieving it! Kurama and Hiei are stuck inside! You need to get them back to Reikai immediately so you can deactivate it and get them out! Please, Koenma-sama—AND SEND SOMEONE ELSE, THIS TIME! IT'S MY FIRST DAY OFF IN FIVE YEARS AND I DESERVE TO ENJOY IT!" With that, the very-scary-looking face of the normally-cheery Grim Reaper (and Detective Assistant) disappeared from the monitor, and Koenma blinked.

The demigod blinked, again. …then snickered.

The Shield of Aphrodite had activated, and Kurama and Hiei were stuck inside, eh~?

Well, wasn't that interesting…

The toddler chuckled to himself, pressing a button on the intercom and arranging to have someone go to pick up his tantei—as well as the ones within the activated Goddess Item—as soon as possible. …Good, good. A skilled transporter would be free in an hour. Excellent.

Koenma sat back in his chair, dark amber eyes glinting with merriment.

Well, well. Looks like the demons' little secret was about to come out…

: : :

"Kurama?" Dark brows drew together, despite the comfortably warm spot his face was cradled against.

"Mm~?" There was a light shift, fingers absently petting at a free bit of skin beneath a temple. Silence reached the air, but bandaged fingers moved to trace the dried blood caking one torn white sleeve—and the scabbed cut beneath it—before garnet depths moved to tip into emerald ones just overhead.

"Why do you always get hurt?" A soft smile greeted the innocent-sounding question, and long fingers moved to brush a bit of dark hair from the other's temple, verdant hues flickering to take in that childish face.

"I… suppose it is simply my bad luck, firebaby." A frown marred that expression, and the hand brushing lightly over the healing wounds dropped back down, wrapping around behind the kitsune's waist, his arm brushing against the cool, curved wall Kurama was leaned against. The hankoorime shifted, as well, finding a more comfortable spot in the kitsune's lap—but with the hardness of the sphere around them, it was a bit difficult. He didn't complain, though… simply rested his head over the steady thrum of the redhead's human heart, eyes slipping shut as his bandaged hand moved to wind fingers into what remained of the fox's sky-blue Chinese tunic—although all of the lovely shade was covered in blood or grime of some sort, or dirt caked on by blood that had dried with it. Nonetheless he didn't mind, simply muttered something against the fox's chest, curling a bit closer.

"Hn. Stupid fox. I told you to stop calling me that…" A melodic chuckle echoed against the air in the limited space, gentle digits moving to tenderly run through the spiky blue-black strands that poked so improbably into his cheek and chin. The redhead tipped down, the ghost of an exhale dusting over an exposed ear.

"…but I can't help it, you know. You're so icute/i when you're worried…" All that met the prod was a grunt. Hiei wasn't going to give the fox the satisfaction of getting a rise out of him. A few moments passed, and he smirked when he heard a sigh, shifting comfortably and at last allowing a response to grace the air.

"Like you're—'icute/i', when you're flirting with Yuusuke?" A soft whap on his arm ensnared a low chuckle from his own throat, idly scratching his nails along the small of the kitsune's back in an unconscious pet of the area where Kurama's tails would sprout from, were he in youko form. A light, shuddery sigh met the pampering movements, and he felt the kitsune relax against the curved, misty-white wall, once more.

"I see you're not denying it, Kurama." The comment wasn't really an accusation—more of a pointing-out of fact, and as such, the redhead did not feel the need to defend himself, and so merely shrugged one slender shoulder as his fingers re-wound themselves into the dark ebony fur and its particular scratchy-softness…

"I suppose because it's true, dear." A low hum reverberated from the Jaganshi's throat, head tipping slightly more into the petting motions. A slow, genuine smile curved over sensual lips, at that. The soft alto voice dropped a notch with the next bit of musing, becoming more a wistful sigh that held no deep regret or lament behind it.

"But, Yuusuke is nothing if not loyal, and he had Keiko-chan long before he met us…"

"Mm." A sleepy murmur of agreement. Kurama chuckled, nosing to the pine-scented strands, and inhaling the warm, deep scent of ash and wood, fire and water…

"Well, a youkai life is a long one, after all. We can always try in a few decades or so, if you want…~" A low snort met that action, the Jaganshi curling a hint more comfortably within the fox's lap and embrace—one of Kurama's arms was resting gently over his own back, after all.

"Hn. If you can curb your enthusiasm, fox." A slight shift, here, small fangs tugging at the kitsune's already-ruined tunic in a familiar habit of a mutter. "I know how you get when you want something." The redhead smirked, at that, chuckling quietly and moving to kiss the little youkai's forehead, just at the center of the newly-applied ward covering the Jagan.

"Having experienced it first-hand, hm~?" A low grumble followed that, the fire demon turning his face away from the dot of affection to vaguely nuzzle at the former youko's chest.

"Ch', thought you were going to string me up with one of your plants and torture me, if I hadn't 'agreed'…" Here the kitsune leaned lower, hot breath trailing over the shell of an ear.

"I'd only torture you in the best of ways, Hiei-sama…~" A violent shudder wracked the hankoorime's frame for a moment, at that—numerous lewd scenes running across his mind like fire-ants, scrambling and seeking to enflame every part of his consciousness with heat. He shifted, suddenly, moving to push away from the kitsune—but Kurama held him fast, lips sealing to the ones of the exposed face due to Hiei's attempt to 'flee', soft and warm, but with a lingering spark of electricity that promised so much more than a mere kiss…

When they broke apart their breaths beat against one another, and here finally Hiei opened his eyes, noting the dark jade of the kitsune's molten depths before glancing to the side, uncomfortable with the sight but not admitting it, muttering under his breath—

"Stupid fox… we don't know when we'll be out of here. Besides, you're injur—" His words were cut off with another kiss, red pupils widening as it instantly went deeper than the previous one, a wicked tongue tracing the insides of his mouth and he fought the urge to moan at the sensation, those little red ants again crawling over his skin and settling in his stomach to burn. Instead he growled, sharp fangs grazing the edge of the invading muscle as he brought a hand up to fist in the fox's hair. He extricated the fox from his mouth by slowly tugging back on the redhead's thick mane, earning a whine of discomfort and he huffed, garnet eyes slipping with habitual anger into emerald depths. He enunciated. Very carefully.

"Kurama. You're exhausted. I'm exhausted. You used up all the rest of your youki in that stunt you pulled, to get us out, and I'm still tired from using the Jagan. Besides, we don't know when we're getting out of here, and do you really want Koenma to—" He found himself pinned, rather suddenly, to the opposite side of the sphere. Stunned, his stared up at the fox, eyes reflecting the shock for only a moment before clouding with irritation at the sultry smirk he saw on the taller demon's face.

"…Kurama." The kitsune descended, tongue tracing out a path over the Jaganshi's cheek.

"Mm~?" Hiei turned his face away, unwittingly revealing more skin to the other's explorations, and Kurama continued undeterred, traveling down his neck and applying soft kisses and hot licks to the strong cords lining the Jaganshi's throat.

"We can't… Nn…" The redhead grinned as he felt that pale skin shudder beneath him, fingers coming up to slip beneath the tattered shirt, nails scratching softly over skin. The hankoorime's body responded involuntarily, arching slightly as a hiss escaped, and, too fast to see, calloused fingers wrapped around slender wrists and forced them away from his chest, glaring at the fox. For an instant Kurama was worried he'd really pissed-off the little spitfire…

…but the thought left his mind as he was roughly shoved up against the curved wall of the sphere, cheek pressing into the cool, unmoving surface as his hands were bound behind him with what felt like one of the two white belts wrapped so securely over Hiei's waist. The kitsune smirked, then, shifting a bit and opening his mouth to offer a comment—

Only to blink as a wadded-up piece of fabric was shoved into it. He blinked again, then glared at Hiei from the side of his vision, struggling to get a better glance behind him, words muffled beneath the gag but intent all too clear within the glinting emerald hues seen under drawn-down slender scarlet brows. He jerked as an unpleasant sensation drilled up across his back. Had he… ? No… Hiei couldn't have…

It came again, and he let forth a soft moan, slumping against the wall in front. Dammit, that Jaganshi knew his fetishes too well. Find someone sadistic, and pair them with a masochist, and you'd get…

That belt whipped at him, again, and the kitsune arched—no, Hiei'd never really hurt him, and it was over the clothes that were ruined, anyway, and he wasn't hitting him with the buckle-end of the belt… but the sharp, albeit slightly-dulled pain reawakened the smaller aches in all those cuts lining his body. Kurama shuddered as he felt the Jaganshi lean close, voice a low rasp against his ear.

"…you've been a bad fox, Kurama. Not listening to your master…" Sharp nails raked down his sides, slipping to draw out his tucked-in white shirt and dragging harshly up over his back, causing scratches in areas where there had been no injury, before… he keened a quiet whine as he felt the hair nudged aside from the back of his neck, and a tongue replacing the soft pressure of the scarlet mane upon exposed skin… Those thin lips curved in a smirk and Kurama started as he felt a distinctive pawing at the area just below the waistline of his pants—over the fabric. A slight thrust forward to try to gain friction was parried, and he whined again as he felt himself tumble back onto the Jaganshi, knees cradling the backs of the kitsune's thighs as a hard length ground through the layers of material and instinctively the redhead spread his legs, slippered feet sliding slightly upon the smooth surface of the sphere that encased them. He gasped into the gag as he felt his entire being be pushed up with the strength of a thrust from below—then tipped his head back with a sigh as small fangs burned into his neck in small nibbles, rough, wandering hands (one bandaged and one bare) sliding up over his stomach, one dropping to play with the navel there and a shot of heat went straight to his groin, causing the kitsune to writhe, slightly, a vulpine whine again forming in the back of his throat—damn humans and their puberty. Damn it all that he hadn't had any action since taking Hiei as his lover less than a year ago. Damn his morality to be Shiori's 'perfect son' preventing him from seeking out any release amidst the hundreds of admirers he had at school, or even still in Makai. Damn—o-oh. Damn the way Hiei was teasing him and making him arch and gasp as though he were the virgin lover in this experience…

Oh, but he was. That lithe form squirmed and hips thrust upward into frustrating air as the Jaganshi beneath him teased, relentlessly. Damn, and Hiei hadn't even touched his throbbing member, yet. Sweat began to soak into red strands, making them stick to creamy skin as shots of heat wound over his nerves—and that canine whine resounded from his throat, again. Hiei chuckled, husking into the former youko's ear.

"You're going to have to wait, Kurama." His world froze, at that. He tried to look behind him, to the whispering demon present there, but—

"We're moving. We'll be in Reikai soon." A-ah, but… he squirmed, grinding his rear against the Jaganshi's hips shamelessly, another foxy whine bubbling up from his throat. A dark chuckle met the heated air against the redhead's neck.

"Well… if you want it ithat/i badly…" Calloused hands wrapped around the engorged organ, and Kurama immediately bucked at the contact, eyes going wide at the sudden pressured touch to sensitized flesh. When they began pumping at a hard pace he choked, hips thrusting into the movements frenziedly, trying to climb higher and higher over that peak that would set his body awash with freedom…

"We're above the clouds, fox." A sensual murmur, trying to distract him.

"At the Gate of Judgment…" Almost there, almost there—

"Through the halls…" A-ah, so close, so iclose/i—!

Heat exploded from Hiei's palms, adding to the already-hot friction driving him wild. The redhead whined, thrashed, arched and moved his hips in unrelenting rhythm with the Jaganshi's cupped hands, and the voice in his ear turned raspier as he now registered beyond his own senses that the little fire devil was and had been rubbing his prick up against the crack between the kitsune's butt cheeks. Oh, they would have to finish this later, at a much more appropriate time…

"K-Koenma's office—" The redhead seized, coming with a short cry, wetness spreading out for a moment before it evaporated with the heat from Hiei's hands and he heard a growl behind him as the Jaganshi followed him over the edge. They lay there for a mere moment before he felt the hankoorime shift, hands running through his sweat-tinged hair and drying it, a brief, chaste kiss dusted over his lips and Kurama murmured, tipping towards it but finding that he so wanted to sleep…

A soft voice in his head, a gentle brush of a command, and the kitsune drifted off without really being aware of his surroundings, even as they faded from the endless hazy-white to a familiar tiled ceiling…

: : :

Koenma tried not to laugh. He really did.

Yuusuke just grinned at the sight.

Kuwabara gaped.

Botan, of course, just whipped out a camera from nowhere and started taking pictures.

…Naturally, the camera spontaneously combusted in mere moments.

Hiei glared at them all, Jagan glowing lightly atop his forehead—beneath the ward.

"…Hn. Ask Yuusuke. Kurama exhausted himself during the mission."

Aforementioned redhead was curled up in slumber, unaware, his head cushioned in the little Jaganshi's lap as the sphere, which had been floating close to the ground, dissipated as soon as Koenma tapped the top of it precisely three times—and imparted a little bit of his holy ki to override Aphrodite's spell on the item for a moment so he could deactivate it from the outside, of course. Amused amber depths fell to the annoyed garnet ones of his shortest tantei.

"But—what's he doing in your lap?" Kuwabara prodded, earning Hiei's nasty glare settling on him for an instant.

"It was cramped in there." That irate gaze swiftly snapped back to Koenma's merry countenance.

"…so I see you've found out the function of the Shield of Aphrodite." Crimson depths widened in realization—before returning full-force to their previous glare, as though the mere look could silence Koenma from explaining any further.

"…the 'Shield of Aphrodite'?" Yuusuke's ever-curious voice pitched in, and Botan took to happily explaining—now that Koenma-sama had told them the name, he must want them to know, so it was no longer 'classified information'~!

"Yes, Yuusuke, the 'Shield of Aphrodite'! It was created by the Goddess Aphrodite-sama, herself, and was stolen from the Reikai vaults many centuries ago by a family of youkai who have claimed it as their heirloom until now. It activates by emotion, and since it's a Goddess Item of Aphrodite-sama you can well guess what—"

"iThank/i you, Botan." Koenma, slightly put-off by the fact that the ditzy ferry girl had stolen the moment, glared at her lightly to silence any further interruptions—before then coughing demurely into his hand, and fixing a gaze on the brunet detective.

"Yes, well. It produces a kekkai-shield, but can only be activated by a very specific, selfless emotion." Koenma paused here, for dramatic effect. Yuusuke lofted a brow, having an idea, but not really seeing where this was going. His ever-impatient nature would not be stifled for the godling's posturing, however.

"…so? You going to tell us what emotion turns it on?"

Kuwabara stroked his chin in an attempt to sort out the quick slew of words Botan had fired at them only a few moments before.

Botan blinked, innocently—before her eyes began to widen, and then they snapped to the pair of demons yet occupying the floor of her boss' office… one resting quite peaceably, head pillowed in the other's lap.

Hiei began to feel his face grow hot—especially as Koenma locked sly amber depths upon him, only at the last instant flicking his gaze to the oblivious, unconscious kitsune.

"A mutual reciprocation of self-sacrificing love."

Moments passed.

Then, Hiei lightly shoved at the sleeping kitsune's shoulder, muttering something in his mind as ebony spokes obscured the view of his normally-pale (now-burning) face.

…dammit, Kurama. Wake up!!

~*~To Be Continued~*~


End file.
